West Licking fire board

Fulmer's hearing postponed to June 3

The West Licking Joint Fire District board voted May 8 to delay Chief David Fulmer's hearing to 6 p.m. June 3.

The hearing had been scheduled May 8.

The board also agreed to set June 5 as an alternate date and to allow the board president to issue subpoenas for the hearing.

Fulmer's attorney, David (Chip) Comstock, said he requested the change because of a conflict in attorney scheduling.

Fulmer is charged with improper use of his laptop computer owned by the fire district. According to the charges, he violated the provisions of the fire district's policy on technology "through his deliberate misuse and reckless mismanagement of district-owned laptop computers and thereby committed misconduct in office, malfeasance, nonfeasance and gross neglect of duty."

The charges accuse Fulmer of allowing his family to use the computer, of having inappropriate material downloaded to the computers and of using the computer to view sexually explicit websites.

He also is accused of using the laptops for private business ventures for profit, constituting misconduct and malfeasance. The charges say his mismanagement of the computer usage shows a gross neglect of duties, misfeasance and nonfeasance.

The charges are related to information recovered from the laptop computers by Douglas Duckett of the Duckett Law Firm of Cincinnati.

Duckett claims Fulmer was dishonest when being interviewed, which shows misconduct in office and malfeasance through insubordination, according to the charges.

In other business May 8, the fire board voted to have the acting Assistant Fire Chief Todd Magers serve as acting chief starting May 24, the day after current acting chief Ken Mathews retires.